Oppn stages walkout over rehabilitation of border migrants

Jammu: Uproarious scenes and sloganeering were witnessed in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly as Opposition on Monday staged a walkout from the House over the alleged "failure" of rehabilitation of border migrants at safer places in the state.

Replying to the question of JSM member Ashwani Sharma, Minister of State for Home Sajjad Ahmed Kitchloo said there is no policy or proposal to provide shelter at safer places to the people living in Pakistan shelling range on permanent basis along Indo-Pak border.

However, Sharma who posed supplementary queries to the Minister sought his reply by saying that government has given plots of land at safer places in various areas as a matter of policy to rehabilitate border migrants dislocated due to shelling and Pakistan firing along the border line.

He was supported by members of rebel BJP and JKNPP, who demanded that government, should rehabilitate border dwellers at safer places away from the Pakistan firing ranges.

They held protests and resorted to sloganeering in the House seeking reply from the government.

On this, Kitchloo said as and when such incidents take place people living in Pak shelling range are temporary shifted to the nearest safer places and provided shelter in available government buildings and private houses till restoration of normalcy and return to their native places.

Unsatisfied by the reply, members of the opposition raised slogans and staged walkout from the House.

The government has failed to fulfill its commitment to the border people living close to International Border that they will be rehabilitated by providing plots of 5 marlas of land at safer places, Sharma told reporters.

"They should be rehabilitated permanently in safer places so that they will have not to face migration on account of Pak shelling and firing in their border hamlets", he said.

"Pakistan has been creating terror by resorting to ceasefire violation and border villagers always live under the fear of psychosis -- people have been killed, injured and got handicapped due to firing and shelling from across the border -- no compensation has been given to them", JSM member said.

"No compensation has been given to them for their lands which came under the border fencing", he said, adding the opposition demanded their full rehabilitation and compensation but government failed to give a satisfactory reply.